Last evening, SYR and I attended La Brochette‘s (340 Lexington Ave; New York, NY 10016; Tel: 212.972.2200) Grand Opening Event. It is located on the premises of the late La Carne Grill. Under the direction of its owners Avi and Reuven Cohen, it acquired a more sedate and contemporary look to give it the distinctive atmosphere that would do full justice to its fare.

The main floor…

Chef Angel Rodriguez cooked up a memorable menu for the occasion. We started out with the Petit Omakase, a selection of sushi rolls…

White tuna with avocado crunch, tuna/salmon roll and more in a sweet and sour sauce…

For a meat appetizer we had the La Brochette Sampler; it soon became very obvious we were about to be treated to a virtuoso performance of food and heavenly aromas…

Spring roll, wagyu beef brochette and Peking duck

SYR followed with La Brochette Salad, which came with Boston lettuce, baby corn, haricot vert, Kalamata olives and Ranch-Lemon dressing and she liked it!. I, intrigued, opted for the French Onion Soup. This soup is traditionally covered with bread and melted cheese, since we were at a steakhouse, I just had to see what Chef Angel would come up with and I was pleasantly surprised at the riches, the nuances of flavors.

We both segued with the Roasted Prime Rib, which came with a side of of potatoes Lyonnaise and the house beef glaze, SYR ordered hers medium rare, while I opted for a medium well. Both were excellent choices…

….big portions, deliciously juicy and tender. Who can ask for more?

We washed it all down with 2 glasses each of Borgo RealePinot Grigio 2012, from grapes grown in the the Friuli Venezia Giulia region. It was pale straw in color, medium bodied, with a fruity aroma and a clean refreshing taste. We should have found a more adequate wine pairing for the robustly flavored roasted rib, though the wine went delightfully well with everything up to the entrée.

SYR finished her repast with a Mascarpone Tiramisu..,

…it truly mimicked the dairy original!

while I – an unrepentant chocoholic – opted for a Chocolate Lava with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. We left the restaurant enchanted by the atmosphere, and the succulent dinner.

…the taste of paradise!

We run into quite a few old friends, most notably Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, Elan Kornblum from Great Kosher Restaurants Magazine, and Meyer Harroch from New York Kosher Guide, among others. The waiter, a gentleman of the old European schhol (though he was only middle aged), was very attentive and made everyone feel very special. As SYR and I discussed the evening, we both agreed that we’ll have to go back again an again.